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Le Zombie, v. 4, issue 12, whole no. 47, May-June 1942

Page 8

THE AMATEUR PRESS DIGEST   spotlighting the outstanding items

Fantasy Fiction Field's ILLUSTRATED NYCON REVIEW. 50¢. Produced by Julius Unger, 1702 Dahill Rd., Brooklyn, N.Y. Silk screen cover by Knight & Michel.
"25 pages of photos from the New York World STF Convention, with complete and authentic write-ups", the blurb on the cover states. Just whether or not this publication is worth fifty cents is problematical. We can, of course, understand that price considering the cost of the photographs included therein. There are 25 of them; and in our copy 7 are poorly reproduced, 15 are passable, while the others are good. There are actually 26 pages (not counting covers) of which 3-1/2 are ads.
Subject matter of the book is open for speculation because Producer Unger evidently failed to exercise his rights and edit the material before it reached print. There are one or two inconsistencies caused by the biased attitude of the writers which should have been corrected or eliminated. Two  entirely different groups of writers produced the report; Lowndes, Michel and Wollheim reporting all of the small district conferences and conventions leading up to 1939, with Moskowitz, Van Houten and  Taurasi writing on the Nycon itself.
This publication is an important historical document to fandom, and as such it should have embodied cold, unemotional, factual reporting, and nothing more.  The failure to do so we blame on the lack of editing by Unger. While we freely admit that both groups used admirable restraint in their respective stories, in view of the ill-will once rampant upon the actual subject matter, still we found irritating traces of biased nature, such as the convention-sponsoring group constantly inserting the reminder that they did a wonderful job and the reader should not forget that fact.
We agree with them that they did, but their convention report should stand on its own strength. Such indirect reminders pointing to their respective merits and "brains behind the first World STF convention" aren't necessary; that is taken for granted and such self-coloration is only obnoxious. Similarly, in the report on the exclusion of six fans (which the Nycon committee entirely failed to mention), the Wollheim-Michel-Lowndes team need not have included personal opinions on the regrettable happening; as here again a cold, factual reporting would more than have conveyed the distastefulness of the affair.

The Fantasite  15¢ March-April; First Anniversary Issue. Phil Bronson 224 West 6th, Hastings, Minn. Cover by Morris S. Dollens
From cover to cover this is undoubtedly the best single issue of this or any other fanzine in memory. It has a magnificent lithographed cover by Dollens, 16 photographs of Minnesota fans, and 69 pages of top-ranking material including 14 articles, features and columns, 2 items of fiction, 2 of poetry and 6 other features; bound in stiff covers & the spine in white tape. The photographs, with but two experimental exceptions, are excellent. Sensibly, only red, black and green ink in use.
Bronson and his associate editorette, Frances Blomstrand, are to be warmly congratulated upon such a marvelous issue. Springing forth with an idea that is overly-tardy in fandom, we hereby dub it a slanzine.

Los Angeles' Walt Daugherty has produced a Directory of Fandom, listing some 600 fans in alphabetical order. (846 1/3 west 82nd st. -- 15¢.)

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THE AMATEUR PRESS DIGEST spotlighting the outstanding items Fantasy Fiction Field's ILLUSTRATED NYCON REVIEW. 50¢. Produced by Julius Unger, 1702 Dahill Rd., Brooklyn, N.Y. Silk screen cover by Knight & Michel. "25 pages of photos from the New York World STF Convention, with complete and authentic write-ups", the blurb on the cover states. Just whether or not this publication is worth fifty cents is problematical. We can, of course, understand that price considering the cost of the photographs included therein. There are 25 of them; and in our copy 7 are poorly reproduced, 15 are passable, while the others are good. There are actually 26 pages (not counting covers) of which 3-1/2 are ads. Subject matter of the book is open for speculation because Producer Unger evidently failed to exercise his rights and edit the material before it reached print. There are one or two inconsistencies caused by the biased attitude of the writers which should have been corrected or eliminated. Two entirely different groups of writers produced the report; Lowndes, Michel and Wollheim reporting all of the small district conferences and conventions leading up to 1939, with Moskowitz, Van Houten and Taurasi writing on the Nycon itself. This publication is an important historical document to fandom, and as such it should have embodied cold, unemotional, factual reporting, and nothing more. The failure to do so we blame on the lack of editing by Unger. While we freely admit that both groups used admirable restraint in their respective stories, in view of the ill-will once rampant upon the actual subject matter, still we found irritating traces of biased nature, such as the convention-sponsoring group constantly inserting the reminder that they did a wonderful job and the reader should not forget that fact. We agree with them that they did, but their convention report should stand on its own strength. Such indirect reminders pointing to their respective merits and "brains behind the first World STF convention" aren't necessary; that is taken for granted and such self-coloration is only obnoxious. Similarly, in the report on the exclusion of six fans (which the Nycon committee entirely failed to mention), the Wollheim-Michel-Lowndes team need not have included personal opinions on the regrettable happening; as here again a cold, factual reporting would more than have conveyed the distastefulness of the affair. The Fantasite 15¢ March-April; First Anniversary Issue. Phil Bronson 224 West 6th, Hastings, Minn. Cover by Morris S. Dollens From cover to cover this is undoubtedly the best single issue of this or any other fanzine in memory. It has a magnificent lithographed cover by Dollens, 16 photographs of Minnesota fans, and 69 pages of top-ranking material including 14 articles, features and columns, 2 items of fiction, 2 of poetry and 6 other features; bound in stiff covers & the spine in white tape. The photographs, with but two experimental exceptions, are excellent. Sensibly, only red, black and green ink in use. Bronson and his associate editorette, Frances Blomstrand, are to be warmly congratulated upon such a marvelous issue. Springing forth with an idea that is overly-tardy in fandom, we hereby dub it a slanzine. Los Angeles' Walt Daugherty has produced a Directory of Fandom, listing some 600 fans in alphabetical order. (846 1/3 west 82nd st. -- 15¢.)